Many people were skeptical that Capcom’s Flagship team could recreate the Miyamoto-driven Zelda experience, much less put out two top-notch Zelda games at the same time. Well, as far as I can tell, they were incredibly successful. Oracle of Seasons, generally considered the more action-oriented of the pair, is absolutely on the same pedestal as Link’s Awakening and the other classic Zelda games. I was expecting more or less a mission-pack...just new dungeons and a couple new enemies. Instead, Oracle of Seasons is very much a new game, with countless minor innovations and additions that will surely become a lasting part of the Zelda series.

In keeping with tradition, the story in Seasons is fairly ho-hum, and has little to do with the game’s flow or execution. Instead, your progress is controlled and motivated by the eight dungeons and the special item contained in each one. The first half of the game also uses the changing seasons to control where you can go and what you can do. You'll get the Rod of Seasons pretty early, but it only starts out with the power of Winter. By jumping up onto the various tree stumps in the overworld, you can change the season to Winter (and the other three, once you gain their powers as well). Often, the lay of the land will be altered in a new season, and you’ll be able to access a new place or climb up to a treasure chest. In a sense, this means that most of the overworld has four different forms, so the fairly large map is actually much deeper and complex than it first seems.

The second half of the game de-emphasizes the season puzzles and instead focuses on dungeon action and some truly difficult puzzles. Just because Oracle of Ages is more puzzle-intensive doesn’t mean you’ll get away without a few toughies in Seasons. The dungeons are all cleverly designed and packed with challenge, even for seasoned Zelda players. Seasons introduces a handful of new dungeon treasures, including a remote-control boomerang, an upgrade for the Roc’s Feather which lets you float across long distances, and an ingenious magnetic glove that can be used to manipulate heavy objects or to pull you across gaps. The dungeon mini-bosses and bosses are great too; some of them are updated versions of baddies from the original Legend of Zelda, and all of them are quite difficult to beat. My only gripe about the dungeons are that the mini-bosses (and the subsequent teleport pads) are usually way too late...sometimes just two or three screens in front of the big boss.

The overworld of Holodrum has its own share of challenges and innovation. For one thing, there are three new animal friends to help you out. While none of them plays a major part in the quest, they do provide a nice little break from the standard walk/slash overworld gameplay. Much more integrated is the sub-world of Subrosia, which comes complete with its own town, dungeon, and even a separate map. Accessing the various corners of Subrosia will be as much a part of your quest as anything you do in Holodrum. It’s also the home of the Temple of Seasons, which of course is the game’s focal point early on.

Perhaps the most disappointing element in Oracle of Seasons is its outdated graphics. Although couple snazzy special effects here and there, the game engine is exactly the same one that we saw over two years ago in Link’s Awakening DX, which was just a colorized version of the original Link’s Awakening engine from the mid-1990s. At least Nintendo fixed things so that the graphics don’t get darker while playing Oracle of Seasons on Game Boy Advance. Meanwhile, the sound is actually great. Many of the songs are leftovers from Link’s Awakening, but there are both new tracks and a couple remixes from songs in the N64 titles. In other words, you can still rock out to the classic overworld theme, but there’s enough new material to keep you wearing headphones.

Oracle of Seasons is a truly worthy addition to the Zelda franchise. The fact that it wasn’t even made by Nintendo makes it that much more impressive. GBA owners looking for some great adventure gameplay will find tons of it in this title. It’ll keep you busy for weeks (unless you’re like me and find yourself playing it for hours at a time). Finally, you can combine Oracle of Seasons with Oracle of Ages (which is not a remix but a totally different and equally new game!) and open up some really cool features, like new mini-quests, dungeons, and items. You might even run into some old pals from Hyrule if you play a linked game. Honestly, I can’t recommend Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons enough. Shell out thirty bucks and lose yourself in a whole new world.

Jonathan Metts, Senior Editor